Liberty Tampa Bayhttp://libertytampabay.com
Because life is too short to vote for bad politicians.Fri, 20 May 2016 17:27:26 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.6.1Action Alert! Florida’s Second Amendment Being Threatened by SB 130http://libertytampabay.com/action-alert-floridas-second-amendment-being-threatened-by-sb-130/
Thu, 20 Mar 2014 15:49:37 +0000http://libertytampabay.com/?p=1358Liberty Lobbyist, John Hallman of Liberty First has issued the following Action Alert regarding Senate Bill 130. SB 130 would weaken Florida’s “Stand Your Ground Law” and threaten the Second Amendment rights of Florida citizens. We should not compromise on our Constitutional rights and allow the Florida Senate to legislate them away. Please use the action tools below to take action now and express your opposition to SB 130.Update 3/20/14: The bill is now in the Community Affairs Committee. Please use the petition below to ask the members to oppose the SB 130.

Log Your Phone Calls

The Senate Criminal Justice Committee voted unanimously yesterday to pass SB 130 that makes changes to the “Stand Your Ground” law passed in 2005. Anti-gun groups have been working for years to repeal “Stand Your Ground” and can now claim a partial victory if SB 130 makes its way into law. This bill will rewrite one of the best laws to protect your right to defend yourself ever passed in the Florida legislature.

In my opinion there was no need to make any changes to the “Stand Your Ground” law and some very large misconceptions being put out in the media about this law. It is just simply untrue that a person can shoot someone and just walk away. The current “Stand Your Ground” law still enables local Law Enforcement and State Attorneys to investigate, detain and even arrest a suspect if they feel the facts warrant those actions. It also puts the final decision in the hands of judges and juries to decide if the use of “Stand Your Ground” law is a justifiable defense.
It was no surprise that anti-Second Amendment U.S. Representative Corrine Brown (D-Jacksonville) was elated with the vote by saying “It is a perfect beginning for a discussion”, as she admits that she would prefer total repeal of the law.

What did come as a shock to me was that the NRA and their longtime lobbyist in Florida, Marion Hammer, came out in support of this bill, which ultimately weakens “Stand Your Ground”. Marion Hammer claims these changes are just clarification revisions. I don’t think she has realized the unintended consequences of her support of this bill. To her credit, Marion Hammer was the driving force in passing “Stand Your Ground” in 2005. She has always defended the law and claimed that there was no need for any changes.

Is she is now caving to the anti-gun rights crowd? Does she not see that compromising only empowers those that hate liberty and would seek to destroy your right to arm and protect yourself and your family?

SB 130 looks to be a political stunt in an election year to appease the anti-gun rights groups. These groups have created tremendous political pressure and the real agenda for SB 130 is the door now being opened for the eventual repeal of “Stand Your Ground”.

SB 130 seeks to weaken the very foundation of why the “Stand Your Ground’ law passed in the first place. The “Stand Your Ground” statute (section 776.013) created a section of this law (776.032) of the Florida Statutes. This section provides that a person who is permitted to use deadly force under sections 776.012, 776.013, and 776.031 receives immunity from “criminal prosecution and civil action for the use of such force.” This law does not define what is considered self-defense. That was already defined and codified into law well before “Stand Your Ground” was enacted. This law simply creates immunity from criminal prosecution in cases where the standards for self defense (a separate law and statute) have been met. Section 776.032(2) of the statute further states that “a law enforcement agency may use standard procedures for investigating the use of force as described in subsection.”

The reason for addressing immunity with “Stand Your Ground” was that citizens acting in what was legally defined as self-defense would not have to face homicide charges and a long, expensive trial for an act that was clearly within the definition of simply defending their life. “Stand Your Ground” does not exempt a suspect from local law enforcement and/or the State Attorney’s Office from investigating. It does not provide for blanket immunity from detainment or arrest if it is decided that someone did not act in self-defense nor was the aggressor of an act. This law was a way to protect those who were very clearly in defense of their life from going through the tremendous expense and pain of a trial. It was a way to stop victims of a crime from being further victimized by the judicial system.

“Section 776.041 already makes it clear that you are not allowed to claim protections under the “Stand Your Ground” law if you are the aggressor in the situation. If you are the one who “initially provokes the use of force against himself or herself” you have no protection under the “Stand Your Ground” law and have a much weaker case under the definition of self-defense.

SB 130 cannot be permitted to become a law. It will be the beginning of the eventual repeal of one of the best laws that protects your right to protect my life, liberty and property.

TAKE ACTION

The best chance to kill a bill is to stop it from ever being heard in the next committee stop. The next stop for SB130 is the Community Affairs Committee. Please call Senator Wilton Simpson, Chair of the Community Affairs Committee and tell him that he should not schedule SB130 in this Committee. Then call the other Republican members of the Community Affairs Committee and tell them that they should not support SB130. Tell them SB130 will weaken “Stand Your Ground” and that this compromise will only empower anti-Second Amendment groups to go for a complete repeal.

Send E-mails

Log Your Phone Calls

]]>Reinforcements vs Resignationhttp://libertytampabay.com/reinforcements-vs-resignation/
Sun, 05 Jan 2014 17:54:21 +0000http://libertytampabay.com/?p=1342The other day someone asked Mark Bircher (candidate for US Congressional District 13) why military men have such a hard time adjusting to life in Washington. Mr. Bircher fairly rejected the premise, saying he did not see that military men did have difficulty, citing those such as Washington, Eisenhower, and Grant. There are others. Jackson, Taylor, Eisenhower, Truman, Kennedy, Carter, and both Bush’s. In fact 31 out of 44 Presidents served (70%).

Still the question haunted me. What, I wondered, are the traits of military men, especially those in leadership positions. They are men of action, honor, and boundaries. A military man can be inserted behind enemy lines with little to go on other than his wits and training and emerge victorious, learning along the way and applying what he learned to his advantage. No, wait, not to his personal advantage but to the advantage of the mission. Military men are not in the military to further their own ends. They are not there to serve the ends of others. They are there to serve the Nation.

A military man knows what he can and can’t do, but more importantly, he knows his boundaries. He knows what he should and should not do. The Constitution is framed with boundaries. Power is divided into many more than the three branches of government your civics teacher told you about. Divided power cannot be supreme. To guide the nation, several divisions of power must come together along the same path. To step outside the boundaries is to violate the oath of the soldier. To do so in elected office is to step outside the boundaries of the oath of office and of the constitution.

A military man fights his battles toe to toe, face to face and with his personal honor at stake. In Washington, battles are often fought with lies, deceit, and trades of what rightly belongs to the people: Trades of the vote. In Washington, honor takes a back seat to agendas. The mission of service to the nation has become a mission of self service. The game has no rules. Washington has adopted the mantra of Lombardi: “Winning is the only thing.”

To put a military man in that situation certainly has its challenges. Some fail. Some adapt. Some adopt the rules of the game and abandon self respect. But something still bothered me. What am I missing? One thing is a shift in that percentage I noted earlier. Of the first 22 Presidents, 80% (18) served in the military. Of the last 22 (the second half) only 60% (13) had served. A trend disturbingly similar to the trend in the erosion of honor in Washington.

Mark Bircher had rejected the premise. My logic to this point only examines the military man as a misfit into Washington’s nightmare of institutionalized ineptitude. In considering Mr. Bircher’s response, I realize that he is right. The premise is wrong. It is not just the military men who have trouble in Washington: It is a challenge for any man of honor and character who finds it necessary to enter that world. Still, some of them survive without losing their way.

Where this leads is to this suggestion: Instead of sending men who know the game and can play it well, we ought to send reinforcements for those men of honor and character, military or not, who are currently outnumbered in our Capitol city.

]]>Liberty Tampa Bay Recommends Mark Bircher for CD13 GOP Primary Special Electionhttp://libertytampabay.com/liberty-tampa-bay-recommends-mark-bircher-for-cd13-special-election/
Tue, 31 Dec 2013 00:01:26 +0000http://libertytampabay.com/?p=1327Liberty Tampa Bay is proud to recommend Mark Bircher for CD13's Special Election.
]]>As we are all well aware, the passing of Congressman C.W. Bill Young has left a void in Congress and Pinellas County. What you may not be aware of is the special election that is taking place on January 14th for his now vacant seat. You can visit the Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections website at https://www.votepinellas.com/ for information about voting locations and times.

If you signed up for them, absentee ballots have arrived in your mailbox already. You can turn them in any time prior to the election. You can also surrender them and vote in the early voting or on election day.

Early voting is from January 4th to January 12th.

The election is on Tuesday, January 14th for Republicans only.

Currently, there are three candidates in the Race for CD13. Mark Bircher, David Jolly, and Kathleen Peters. In order to recommend the correct candidate for you to cast your ballot for, we analyzed voting records, donation history, TV ads, news coverage, interviews, surveys, and social media.

Mark Bircher, 60, is a retired Marine Corps Brigadier General, F/A-18 Pilot and Iraq War Veteran. Mark lives with his family in Largo, Pinellas County and currently works as a Commerical Airline Pilot flying the Boeing 777. Mark has an extensive resume serving our nation in the United States Marine Corps. He was deployed to Iraq where his awards include the Navy Distinguished Service Medal and the Bronze Star Medal. Mark is also a current member of the Florida Bar with a degree in Law from Stetson University. You can read more about his resume on his facebook about page https://www.facebook.com/markbircherfl/info.

Mark believes in limited government, fiscal responsibility, and individual liberty. He believes that the federal government has grown too large and needs to be scaled back considerably. He believes the federal government was created to serve the states and that many of the issues currently handled by the federal government can move back to the states.

Mark frequently cites the constitution and the founding father’s in his explanation of his stances on the issues. Speaking with him, it is clearly evident he knows the full extent of our nation’s history and the document he swore an oath to protect.

Recently, Mark Bircher was endorsed by former Congressman Allen West stating, “Brigadier General Mark Bircher is exactly the type of citizen-servant our country needs on Capitol Hill – and precisely the type of leader the Left would like to suppress.”

]]>Minimum Wage Slavery and Ending Welfarehttp://libertytampabay.com/minimum-wage-slavery-and-ending-welfare/
Sun, 08 Dec 2013 18:49:50 +0000http://libertytampabay.com/?p=1308People willing and able to do necessary work should be allowed to earn a living wage. The capitalist system has traditionally set the cost of labor. Unfortunately, this is no longer happening. Crony capitalists exploit the cost of living to allow government to subsidize their profits.

A fictional scenario representing a real problem

Wolmark is a big business that uses large amounts of low skill workers only paying the current minimum wage and only giving employees 30 hours of work weekly to avoid providing benefits. That’s legal. What shouldn’t be legal is the government giving WIC and EBT to people who, depending on the size of their family, earn below a certain wage. Wolmark targets these people because they can intentionally pay them below the poverty line. This allows them to raise their profit while offloading their expenses onto taxpayers by using a government-subsidized workforce. Medicaid, WIC, and EBT are all padding the profit margins of a place like Wolmark because their workers earn more by getting minimum wage and government handouts than if Wolmark paid them enough to rise above the poverty threshold. Finally, to complete the cycle, they sell goods back to their own employees at a profit further cutting into their government subsidized wages. Wolmark cashes in from Uncle Sam on the front and back end.

There are many employers, and employees, who exploit the government assistance available to the poor. Government benefits can often account for more than a third of a minimum wage worker’s salary. Minimum wage is already around $12.00 dollars per hour in this realistic scenario. When employers only pay a fraction the taxpayers cover the difference in Medicaid and EBT. Big business has every right to earn and spend as they please, but it is against the principles of capitalism for government to subsidize business indefinitely. I say that employers shouldn’t be allowed to shift the burden of paying their workers onto the government and the country at large. Minimum wage is a complicated issue, but I believe it allows the basic dignity of self-reliance to people with few skills to sell. The alternatives are unpalatable and untenable. Charity will not suffice and will leave us further in debt. Cutting entitlements completely would leave too many in poverty. The current system of tax-payer subsidized wages needs to stop.

Please don’t fall for the hype about “burger flippers” being overpaid. Don’t help pay them. Let their employer do his job.

We talk about welfare because it’s a problem. A problem multinational corps use to bleed us, the taxpayers, dry.

]]>The Glove is on the Other Foothttp://libertytampabay.com/the-glove-is-on-the-other-foot/
Mon, 07 Oct 2013 21:05:51 +0000http://libertytampabay.com/?p=1292Well, here we are, at the biggest “fiscal blame fest” of the past two centuries and both sides swear they are correct.
]]>Well, here we are, at the biggest “fiscal blame fest” of the past two centuries and both sides swear they are correct. For the record they are both wrong, the American electorate is correct; for the first time in five plus years, finally! Americans hurt, they are sick of this President, his administration, and their policies which has moved him down to a new low 41% approval rating. Americans are sick of the White House failures, of the posturing, condescending, nose in the air pandering, telling us everything is going to be alright; just stop insulting our intelligence. Things are not going well, we already know this, heck the whole world already knows this.

We’re beat up, and the worst part is all the President does is blame a guy who has had no control for almost six years now, and who lost legislative control over eight years ago to a Democratic majority. So, obviously “reality” has nothing to do with the situation, because that is the factorial timeline and historic trajectory of where the United States of America is currently.

Lately, we’re not feeling very United Statesy, and many States have been threatening mutiny. Given the current executive and legislative overreaches coming out of Washington through the Democratic majority; it’s not a wonder.

Juvenile behavior abounds. The other day I heard that OJ Simpson tossed his cookies – literally, he threw them on the floor… During “this rotation of prison time,” OJ got caught with his hand in the actual cookie jar, with stolen “confections contraband.”

When he was confronted about the “illegal relocation of the sugary treats” he tossed his cookies on the floor. Does that sound familiar?

Nah, it wasn’t me – then toss your cookies on the floor. Does anyone else see an epidemic of misinformation and sophomoric behavior here?

When the going gets tough, the tough play golf, make a speech and toss their cookies!

]]>Lunch and Liberty Day with David McKalip!http://libertytampabay.com/lunch-and-liberty-day-with-david-mckalip/
Thu, 15 Aug 2013 04:16:16 +0000http://libertytampabay.com/?p=1263Campaigning for McKalip

All politics are local, and if we wish to take back our nation, we must first start in our cities. The Republican Liberty Caucus of Tampa Bay (RLCTB) is taking on that task. In lieu of their regular meeting, they will host their monthly Regional Meeting at the campaign headquarters of Dr. David McKalip, who is running for St. Petersburg City Council, District 4 (bio and positions outlined below).

The event will take place on Saturday, August 17th from 1:00 PM to 6:00 PM (with dinner held afterwards) at McKalip Campaign Headquarters, located at: 431 Southwest Blvd North, Suite 101, Saint Petersburg, FL 33703.

About Dr. McKalip

Dr. David McKalip is a brain and spine surgeon who has lived in St. Petersburg since he was a few months old. He has a wife of 22 years and 3 kids, and is an active member of Holy Family Catholic Church. He has been practicing medicine privately in St. Pete since 2000. He has also been involved in organized medicine (the FMA, AMA, etc.) and fighting against Obamacare.

Dr. McKalip will work to lower taxes, return St. Petersburg from the “political class” and return it to the residents. He believes the well-connected that are controlling the city government are treating the people as “walking ATMs” to fund projects and grand vision for the city, who expect the people to pay taxes and keep quiet. Dr. McKalip has a history of fighting City Hall over mismanagement of taxpayer dollars, going back to 2006. He worked to get a property tax cap amendment on the ballot, but it was thrown out by an activist Florida Supreme Court.

Dr. McKalip wants to lower the cost of living for residents by reducing property taxes by $10 million and lowering the taxes the city levies on utility bills. He is the only candidate in District 4 who seems to actually understand the various city budgets. According to Dr. McKalip’s analysis, the city has $81 million in reserves above and beyond the rainy day and emergency funds required by law. He wants to use part of these reserves and future spending cuts to pay for the tax cuts, while using part of the excess to give government workers a modest raise (more if they agree to pension reform), and using the rest to begin filling the $325 million gap in unfunded pension and retiree benefits that no other candidates are willing to talk about.

He believes spending should be prioritized to core services: police, fire, roads, sewage, and parks. He believes that special projects are of a much lower priority and that the government needs to tighten its belt and live on less especially during lean economic times, the same as the rest of us.

A small business owner himself, Dr. McKalip has a history of fighting against business regulations that hamper small businesses, especially when there are carve outs for big businesses. He has fought to allow sign spinners, is fighting against electronic signage restrictions, and is a big proponent of allowing food trucks to operate in the city.

Dr. McKalip is the only candidate in this race who signed the Stop the Lens petition, and he also worked to gather petitions. He is against the plan to build a new pier on taxpayer dollars and is the only candidate to offer a real alternative, and one with no cost to the taxpayers. He proposes that the city lease the Pier to a private developer (with public use stipulations for fishing etc.) who can build and manage a new Pier that can be profitable on its own by meeting market demands, turning the Pier from a tax taker (in maintenance and subsidies to the businesses that operated there previously) to a tax payer. Similar arrangements have been very successful for the Chelsea Piers in Manhattan, as well as Bayfront Medical Center, and the Mahaffey Theater locally, to name a few.

Dr. McKalip has proposed a “Good Neighbor Reward Program” as an innovative way to put the citizens’ money back in hands and reduce government dependency. Instead of trying more expensive, failed government programs to help Their communities, he wants to reward residents who volunteer time to make the community a better place (volunteering with charitable organizations, being a Big Brother/Big Sister, helping a released prisoner succeed in society, tutoring children, helping the elderly, etc etc) with tax rebates, parking ticket forgiveness, or access to city amenities such as golf, Mahaffey Theater tickets, St. Pete Grand Prix tickets, or some of the Rays tickets the City gets for every home game. The program is designed to create a community of neighbors rather than a community dependent upon the government.

Dr. McKalip is opposed to a 14% sales tax increase (for a total of 8% that would be the highest in the state) or any other scheme to pay for light rail between St. Pete and Clearwater with government money. He believes it will operate at a loss, cause the bus system to lose even more money, increase congestion by taking away driving lanes, and is an all-around bad idea.

Dr. McKalip is against universal recycling, saying the people should be free to decide whether or not to pay for recycling on their own (he pays a private company to take his recycling), and points out that some cities who are adopting universal recycling have cut garbage pickup to once per week.

He is opposed to building a new stadium for the Rays at taxpayer expense, and thinks the Rays should honor the contract.

Dr. McKalip is completely against Red Light Cameras, for all the reasons ranging from the increase in rear end collisions, to due process concerns, to being simply another government fundraiser at the expense of the people.

Dr. McKalip writes a news blog at www.sunbeamtimes.com. He is also the creator of the “Founders Corner” monument in St. Petersburg, which pays homage to the principles of limited government upon which this nation was founded. You can visit it at the corner of 62nd Ave N and 4th St, or learn more at www.founderscorner.us.

He has the support of Senator Jeff Brandes, Republican State Committeeman Dan Tucker, former County Commissioner Nancy Bostock, Pinellas Republican Party Chairman Michael Guju, the Pinellas Hispanic Republican Club, and restauranteur Jon Le Budde, among many others.

Dr. McKalip has been active in the liberty community, worked to elect Dr. Ron Paul in the Republican primaries, would like to make St. Pete a drone-free zone, and is rumored to have Ron Paul and End the Fed stickers on his car. He is a gun owner and enjoys golf.

His campaign has raised approx. $35,000 so far, and he is a registered Republican.

When I was presented with the concept of Anthony Weiner’s further indiscretions having some impact on the Clintons, the Democratic Party and Hillary Clinton’s impending Presidential run in 2016 – I had to laugh because it’s nothing short of sheer ironic poetry.

Everyone that I spoke with had the same feelings: apathy, amusement and a deep abiding desire to make sure that “Sir Anthony” gets some of the same heartburn that he’s been giving the country. In President Obama’s wake, Weiner has quietly become the poster child for the self absorbed, spendaholic, tone deaf, abusive Democratic Party.

Recently, in Washington, there was a meeting between the President and Hillary Clinton to speak about “the Junk in Weiner’s Trunk” (i.e., the baggage that Mr. Weiner has brought to the forefront). The “Junk” that no one in the Democratic Party wants to deal with; the Obamas or the Clintons “book two.” It doesn’t matter whether the turmoil starts now and drags into the next Administration. If any Democrat pokes his head out of the Oval Office anytime between now and 2016 it will be a whack-a-mole-athon and both Republicans and Democrats will be wielding a mallet.

Outside Washington, it has come to my attention, that the male populous in the U.S. seems to have a great take on what should happen to the beloved Anthony Weiner – NYC Mayoral candidate. It has been suggested that every male in America that is so inclined, should take a very personal photograph of their most intimate member and email a photo to Mr. Weiner. After all, we know how fond of this type photographic evidence Mr. Weiner appears to be. This is intended to accomplish several things: (a) to show support for his lack of discretion, and (b) to show “Mr. Danger” that there are many more gifted males out there among his constituents then he can possibly imagine.

But the best reason to consolidate all these photographs of people that “Weiner” or the “Couple Weiner” have been close to is, so that the rest of us looking at these photographs know how to steer clear of the biggest weiners now and in 2016.

With input like that, we will have absolutely no problem identifying any number of Weiners, with or without the bun; and with any luck at all, Mr. Danger will CC the President.

]]>Interview with John Hallman of The Liberty First Networkhttp://libertytampabay.com/interview-with-john-hallman-of-the-liberty-first-network/
Tue, 30 Jul 2013 03:45:41 +0000http://libertytampabay.com/?p=1248The Liberty First Network is a small organization working tirelessly on the issues that matter to us (red light cameras, Real ID, Common Core, etc.). Here's a great interview with John Hallman, one of the principals of the Liberty First Network.
]]>The Liberty First Network is a small organization working tirelessly on the issues that matter to us (red light cameras, Real ID, Common Core, etc.). Here’s a great interview with John Hallman, one of the principals of the Liberty First Network. Lots of insider info on what its like to be a Liberty Lobbyist in Tallahassee.

]]>Florida Prepares Defense to Second Amendmenthttp://libertytampabay.com/florida-prepares-defense-to-second-amendment/
Thu, 18 Jul 2013 18:17:28 +0000http://libertytampabay.com/?p=1230The Florida Tenth Amendment Center has released two legislative acts that would nullify federal controls and restrictions on the Second Amendment rights of Florida citizens. Floridians are being encouraged to contact their elected officials to sponsor and support both the Florida Second Amendment Preservation Act & Florida Firearms Freedom Act. Learn more about the acts and how you can take action today after the jump…

The most effective way to communicate with your elected officials is face-to-face. You can download and print the legislative templates using the links below. The goal is to get them to sponsor and support one of the acts, if not both.

Not all of us have the opportunity to meet, so FLTAC has made it as easy as possible by launching e-campaigns for both acts. To send your elected officials an e-mail requesting their sponsorship and support, use the links below. All you do it fill out the form, customize your message and hit send! Be sure to share any comments you receive in reply. There’s even a Facebook event you can share with your friends to encourage their participation, click here to join and share.

All Districts will vote for Mayor and will have a referendum question on the ballot. The referendum question is detailed below. We have also listed off all candidates running for Mayor and City Council by Districts. At the end of the guide are links to a sample each district’s ballot.